August 17th, 2010 | 
Author: The Ming Tombs: A World Heritage Site
A couple hours towards the northwest of Beijing City lies the mausoleums of thirteen Ming dynasty Emperors. Referred to as the Ming Tombs these historical structures have been flawlessly preserved and serve as excellent examples of Chinese palatial architecture and culture. It is said that the site of the mausoleum wee chose n by Ming dynasty emperor Yongle who was also instrumental in moving the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing.
The site of the tombs was carefully chosen according to Chinese Feng Shui principles. This is why an arc shaped sheltered area at the foot of the Jundu Mountains was chosen as it deflected the evil spirits of the North Wind. Following the burial of Emperor Yongle twelve others where subsequently buried here though their tombs bear the same architectural style and geometrical design they differ in their proportions and decorative features.
However of the thirteen tombs only two are open to the public today known as the Changling and Dingling tombs. Of these the Changling tomb is the largest and covers an area of almost 2000 square meters. The tomb holds the remains of Emperor Zhudi and is one of the most interesting Ming dynasty buildings in China. The tomb is supported by 32 large posts some of which measure up to 14 meters in height. The ceiling of the tomb is colorfully painted and features traditional Chinese inscriptions and drawings the floor of the tomb is covered by gold bricks.
The smaller Dingling tomb is built underground at depth of about 30 meters. The important sections of this tomb are the Stone Bridge Soul Tower Baocheng and the Underground Palace. The later section was only found and excavated in the 50s and is constructed completely from stone. The entire Ming Tomb enclosure was recently declared a UNESCO World heritage site making it a tourist attraction among visitors in many a Beijing hotel. Being a rapidly expanding city with a vibrant tourism sector a luxury hotel in Beijing would not be difficult to find for tourists wishing to visit the Ming dynasty tombs.
About the writer: Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing services and specializes in hotel Internet marketing industry.
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